Ipswich Arts Centre

Proposals to transform the church of St Clement in Ipswich into an arts centre to bring it back into the social and communal life of the communities it was built to serve. The project will breathe new life into a building of significant heritage whilst securing its future by creating a diverse performance space.

As a place of worship the church's principle purpose was conceived as one of spiritual enlightenment. The Ipswich Arts Centre proposes to continue the fundamental purpose of spiritual enlightenment at St. Clement by staging a rich program of opportunities for engagement of the arts.

The occupation of the church will be undertaken as two phases. The first phase will effectively create a pop-up venue by inserting a series of contemporary architectural elements into the space that will allow it to function as a flexible and accessible venue. During this first phase funding will be sought to undertake full and proper conversion works in the years that follow.

Historically, much of the churches day-to-day activities were supported by the church's fittings; pews for prayer, fonts for christenings, pulpits for preaching, altar for communion/ worship etc., all played out in the voluminous interior of the church.

The IAC's appropriation of the space will use its own series of movable architectural elements to support the new programme of activity and define new spaces within the monumental spatial excess of the existing church. This proposal aims to nurture the use of the church in numerous diverse ways many of which are not predictable and thereby enable different and even opposite interpretations and use. At the core of the proposal is the new level floor finish that becomes a 'field' in which these new events are enacted

The IAC's appropriation of the space will use its own series of movable architectural elements to support the new programme of activity and define new spaces within the monumental spatial excess of the existing church. This proposal aims to nurture the use of the church in numerous diverse ways many of which are not predictable and thereby enable different and even opposite interpretations and use. At the core of the proposal is the new level floor finish that becomes a 'field' in which these new events are enacted.